THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS has typically been assembled with the idea that learners are all the same. While this approach works in a homogenous population, it has left instructional designers unprepared to design for the culturally diverse populations we now face in a globally interdependent social order.

Assessing the instructional needs of your audience is always the first step in developing instructional design. However, you may want to consider, depending on your instructional goal and course content, a more thorough analysis of your potential audience. In a culturally diverse world, one should spend the extra time to: 

• What country do they come from?
• What language(s) do they and their families speak?
• What was life like in their native country?
• What was their previous schooling experience?
• What is their level of literacy in their native language?
• What are some of the cultural aspects of their culture that may impact their experience in the learning environment (taboos, sex roles, gestures, etc.)? 

A culturally sensitive designer will examine many factors that could affect the learning environment:

How does the classroom and instructor reflect cultural assumptions? It can be arbitrary and culturally bound to assume learners will be in rows of desks and that they will learn best this way.

• What are the learners’ views of time: It can be puzzling for instructors with a Western notion of time to encounter students who do not like to be slaves to the clock.
• What are the learners’ traditional means of communication? This can vary between cultures; for example, Aboriginal and Inuit cultures have a strong oral tradition.Some learners place little importance on reading and writing, which stands in direct contrast to our emphasis on the value of literacy.
• How do the learners view competition? Values placed on competition and collaboration are culturally bound.
• What is the learners’ locus of control? Different cultures have different perspectives on the amount of control individuals have over happenings. 
  
  

• What are the learners’ preferred learning styles? A number of factors could influence people’s preferences, including gender, age, and prior experience.
• What are the learners’ cognitive characteristics? Some studies indicate that learners from different cultural groups may develop different cognitive styles
• What are the learners’ psychosocial characteristics? Many cultures have varying levels of motivation, attitudes, and anxiety associated with learning.
• What are the learners’ physiological characteristics? Are they visual, auditory, or tactile learners? Many cultures struggle with general health issues which may affect their ability to learn. 
  
  

Be aware that we now live, work, and learn in environments that are increasingly culturally diverse. All of these factors carry implications for selecting your instructional strategy and developing your instructional materials. 

Brett Powell, SDSU Graduate Student - Educational Technology

Powell, B. (2004). Instructional design in a cross-cultural context. In B. Hoffman (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Educational Technology.